Garment-supporting form and presser for wardrobe-trunks.



F. wuss/mm, GARMENT SUPPORTING FORM AND PRESSER FOR WARDROBE-TRUNKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 17. I915.

Patented M8y14,-I918.

INVENTOR 179649 riao VfJe aray.

A tlorneys TED STATES PTA FEDERiCQ-VIDEGARAY, v.onnivrnznoo, MEXICO.

eARMEnr-soPPonTI-NG FQRMYAND Pitnssnn roe 'wnnnnonn rnunxs.

Speeificatitn of Letters Patent;

7 Pat nte ay.14;.1o1s.

aapplicationfileds December 27,4915. SeriaLNo; 68,634.

To aZZ whom tat-may concern Be it. lmoWn-zthat I, Fnnmuco Vroneensr, a citizen of Mexieo, residingiin -Mexloocity,

-Mexico,;= have v invented a certain new and useful Garment Supporting Form and Pressen *for Wardrobe Trunks, of (which! the following is a specification:

This ainvention is 3.x garment supporting form and presser adapted for:=use, more pariticularlynwithz Wardrobe trunks of'the type described and claimed in my Patent -No.

1,159,3d2; datedNovem'ber- 2, -1'915. According to the patentedconstructionreferred to, ithednteriorof thetrunk is providedwvith a guide, 'with vvhich is. adapted to coorperate an extension member, "so that garment-hangers supported 1 on the guide may be: Withdrawn to points" exterior ofthe'trunk while supported'on the extension member. The extension member is i removable; 1 so that,

when the garments are=p0sitionedupon their supporting."hangers Within thetrunk; said extension 11161-111361 may. be removed iroin" the guide 'and positioned -t-ransversely of; the trunkmo as to pressagalnstfithe garments and holdtheni in compact iOr-nrand against inadvertent d splacement, ineans being provid'ed for mamtalnn'ig 'sa d Q-XiGIiSlQIi member in sueh position. 1

' lnthe p'atentd invention, as thus far de- -scribed, the engagementa of the: extension.

member -vvith the garments; when in its 00mpress ng position; is more =or less in a line contact" ttansversely of thej' garments and substantially midway of their height. I It willbe manifest, -howe'ver;that a oonstruc tion Which Would engage 7 the garment-s throughout substantially their entire height.

would compress the *sameaand press thein to better advantage) Accordingly, in the -patent invention embodies; means for fsupp'orting a garment and maintaining the same *in proper form, and simultaneously; provides .means] adapted to cooperate .with the extension member for compressing all of the.-gar- .ments in -the -trunkuniformly and. substan-v tiallyithrzoughout tl1e1r-.-entire length.

A salientfeatureiof the .presentinvention 1 I resides in the fact that the. garmentshanger is provided. with a suspending :device which allows of the rotation of the hanger upoirits support. r Said suspending device is of.- extremessnnpliclty, and as so formed las-to render .the strueture as rigid. as though the pivotal means were. not 1 included.

A further 0b]e 3t-*0f the invention is to form-the pivotal suspending device and the adjaoent=partsof the garment-hanger in suchrmanner that they will bStI'O11g, :11glCl, and, at the sametnne; may be manufactured at an astonishingly low-. figure.

: Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be app'arentfrom the hereinafter 1 detailed description: taken in conjunction with the 1 accompanying drawings.

Ini theaccompanyingdrawings, I have illustrated different practical embodiments of the invention, buti the constructions shown therein are-to be undel'stood asillustrative, only, and not asdefiningdhelimits of the invention.-

Figure 113 a front' elev ation of the preferred iorm oi; garment supporting form and presser of the. present invention.-

Fig; 2 is a detail of the pivotal suspending member, portions i of the garment-supporting inember being in section, in the interest of olearness.

Fig; 3 isa transverse section taken on line, 3-3"of Fig. -2.

' Fig. at is -a similar secti-on taken-on-line d-:t of Fig. 2*,fl3ld *Fig. 5 is a faoe view of a modified 'form of the: invention, showing;- the manner in Which-the pivotal conneotion shown may be employed in a garment-hanger wherein the pressing and? distending form is not 'e1nploye'd;

Referring to the drawingsyand more partieularly' Figs. l -to' lyinelusive A indicates the preferred form-of gairment supporting formand pre'sser. The device isgpreferably constructed from --Wire'; rod E, of suitable gage to J impart suflieient rigidity thereto, and, speaking generally embodies an upper portion wand a lower-portion a. A stifieningrodor wirea extends across the device and nearthe-upper part thereof. The upper (Iii Eli]

portion a of the device slopes outwardly with a configuration adapted to conform to the interior of a coat or vest, while the lower portion a may be of any shape desired, but is preferably of such width that, when a garment, such as a coat, is suspended on the upper portion a, and said coat buttoned, the portion a will be of sufficient width to draw the coat flat and preclude creasing of the front or back thereof when said gar ment, with its cooperating hanger and form, is packed.

The parts thus far described embody an integral structure, but, for economy in manufacture, the structure is so formed that the free ends of the wire from which the device is constructed come together at the top of the device, and are so formed that, when a suspending member, such as a hook, is so cured to the device, the securing of said member will simultaneously secure the ends of the wire together. One operation, therefore, serves the dual purpose, and thus considerably cheapens the cost of manufacture Referring more particularly to Figs. 2,

3 and a, it will be noted that the free ends of wire rod B overlap one another in a half lapped joint C, as shown in "2, but this joint, in contradistinction to being of the ordinary half-lapped type, is offset or stepped transversely, as at D, as shownin 3 and e. The over-lapped portions of rod B are provided with alined apertures Z), and a hook-shaped suspending member D, provided with a reduced stem (Z, is adapted to be passed through said apertures and through a washer c, whereupon its end is riveted over, as at .cZ, to bind the parts together. Vl ith this construction, it will be obvious that half-lapped joint C will maintain the ends of the rod in vertical alinement, whereas the stepped joint D will maintain the parts of rod against lateral pivotal movement. ll asher 6 will provide a suitable surface againstwhich the riveting of the portion cl may be accomplished, and the fact that the washer may turn with stem Z), makes it necessary to only slightly head or rivet stem 7). If the washer were omitted it would be necessary to put a decided head upon said stem. since the rotation of hook D would have a tendency to cause the parts to wear and become loose. It will be noted that, in the riveting or heading operation on the stem 5 of the hook, said operation is not car "ied sufficiently far to tightly bind the heel: against pivotal movement rela tive to wire B, but, on the contrary, said stem is simply riveted tightly enough to adequately bind the ends of the rod together against movement, but to allow of the free rotation of the hook.

Yl hile the half-lapped joint C at the ends of rod B might be made without stepping the same transversely, as at D, the structure in such instance would not bind the ends of the rod together to preclude them fron'i becoming out of alineinent laterally, and, as the parts become more or less worn through use, the joint would, in time, become very weak, and he strength of the hanger would be in jeopardy when heavy garments were suspended. thereon. The stepped joint d specified, however, entirely overcomes the lateral movement referred to, and forms a rigid union between the ends pf the wire, while allowing of free rotation of the hook member. its employment is, therefore, preferable.

When the garmentsupporting form and presser hereinbefore described is employed in wardrobe trunks of the type disclosed in my n-iornpatent aforesaid, the garments to be packed in the trunlr are supported upon hangers embod dng the present invention, and the hooks of said hangers are suspended upon the supporting trolley of the trunk. Assuming that a gentlemans suit is t be the garment last packed in the trunk, it will be apparent that the trousers are first flattened to the creases in the legs, and said trousers are then hung, about midway of their length, over the transverse bar (1 which simultaneously serves a trousers support anda stiffening member for the device. The vest is next hung upon the upper portion a, in the manner in which it is usually applied to ordinary coat-hangers, and said vest is buttoned about the form or low r portion a. The coat is next superimposed over the vest in the same manner, and the front buttoned so that said coat, when thus applied, isdrawn taut so as to hold the same in shape. The hanger, with the garment supported tiereon, is hung upon the trolley in the trunk, and the eX- tension rod, forming one of the trunk accessories, is removed from the guide or trolley and positioned transversely of the trunk, whereupon said rod is pressed tightly against the suit to force the same back in the. trunk as far as possible, and, when the maximum degree of pressure is reached, said rod is locked in placeby the usual means. lllanifestly, when this has been accomplished, pressure will not be imparted to the garment in a single line transversely thereof, but the pressure upon one portion of the device A will be imparted to all parts I thereof, and, accordingly, the entire foremost suit will be forced backwardly against the suits positioned rearwardly thereof and interior of the trunk.

The device of the present invention, therefore, accomplishes all of the pressing functions which were accomplished by the stirrup inember of my prior patent. and, at the same time, produces additional results, is more compact, cheaper to manufacture, and takes up less room in a. trunk than that oc cupied by the stirrup member and garmenthanger shown in said previous patent. Moreover, the accessories in the trunk necessary for supporting the stirrup are, of course, rendered superfluous when the present invention is employed, thereby further cheapening the cost of manufacture.

It will, of course, be understood that, in packing away a number of garments in a wardrobe trunk as described, each garment may, if desired, be supported upon a device A as described, although it is not essential when packed in a trunk such as illustrated in my earlier patent. If only the front garment is supported upon the combined garment supporting from and presser, this device will, in pressing back the front garment, force back all of the rest. In such case, the rear garments might be supported on ordinary garment-hangers, or on garment-hangers embodying simply the upper portion a of the device of the present invention, with the form or depending portion a omitted, as shown in Fig. 5. In this figure, the portion a is shown in dotted lines, which dotted-line portion is simply omitted in the manufacture of the article. The advantage of the rotatable connection between the garment support and suspending hook may thus be gained in structures embodying either both the upper and lower portions a and a, or the upper portion (4 alone.

When it is desired to withdraw garments supported within a trunk of the type referred to, this may be accomplished by drawing the same forward to a position exterior of the trunk, on the extension rod, and, if it is desired to examine both the front and the back of any particular garment, sufficient space may be left between the adjacent garments to allow of the garment in question being rotated upon its supporting hook without necessitating the removal of the hook from the guide, as is now the case in wire-rod hangers.

It will, of course, be understood that, in referring to the suspending device D as a hook, any other suitable form of suspending device might be employed. E. 9., a hook such as shown in full lines in Fig. 1 is particularly applicable for use when a singletrolley trunk is used, whereas a yoke X, such as shown in dotted lines in said figure, is advantageous when a double-trolley trunk is used. In the latter case, the yoke may be provided with an integral stem corresponding to stem (Z of hook D, or a rivet x may be employed, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

In the foregoing description, I have set forth the invention in its preferred, specific embodiment, as formed from wire rod of circular cross-section. However, the invention is not to be understood as being limited &

to this detail of construction, as other material, such as sheet metal, might be employed. h'urthermore, I am aware that the invention embodies many improvements, some of which might be employed without neces sarily using all. It will, therefore, be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details shown, but is as broadly as is commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: 1. A device of the class described embodying a garment carrying member formed from wire rod, the ends of which are over lapped in a substantially half-lap, laterally stepped joint, a suspending member embodying a stem passing through alined apertures in said overlapped ends, said suspend ing member serving to lock the ends of the wire rod together and simultaneously form a support for said garment carrying member, while allowing of pivotal movement of the suspending means.

2. A device of the class described embodying a garment supporting member formed from wire rod, the ends of which are overlapped in a substantially half-lap, laterally stepped joint, a suspending member provided with a stem passing through alined apertures in said overlapped ends, and means on said stem for locking the ends of the wire rod together, while allowing of pivotal movement of the suspending means.

3. A device of the class described embodying a garmentv supporting member formed from wire rod, a garment distending member integral therewith and depending therefrom, and also formed from wire rod, and a suspending member for pivotally, supporting the whole, the ends of the wire rod, from which the supporting member is formed, being overlapped in a substantially half-lap, laterally stepped joint and locked together by the suspending member.

4:. A garment support and presser for wardrobe trunks embodying, in its entirety, a rigid, integral frame formed from a metallic strip, the upper portion of which frame is shaped to support a garment and the lower portion of which serves to distend the same, the ends of the metallic strip being brought together in an over-lap, laterally stepped joint, in combination with a suspending member having a stem secured for rotation in alined apertures in the parts of the joint at the ends of the strip, for binding said ends together to form the rigid frame and simultaneously securing the suspending member thereto.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FEDERICO VIDEGARAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

